Dr. Carlyle “Corky” Caldwell Obituary

Obituary

Bedminster

Dr. Carlyle "Corky" Caldwell

103, died October 7, 2017 peacefully at home, with his devoted wife Mary, his constant companion, by his side.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, March 13, 1914, Dr. Carlyle was the son of Howard and Catherine Zimmer Caldwell. He was predeceased by his first wife, Anne Barman, brother Howard and sister Marie Neathery. He is survived by his wife of 28years, Mary Angelakos, sister Wanda Hartsfield, son Geoffrey from his first marriage, sister-in-law Virginia Caldwell, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Dr. Caldwell attended the University of Arkansas, then earned both his B.S. (1935) and Ph.D. (1940) degrees in chemistry from Iowa State University. He joined the National Starch & Chemical Company and made important contributions to industries supplying the war effort. Foreign supplies of critically need starch had been cut off. To ensure our military had the supplies they needed, Dr. Caldwell developed new starches from corn. Over the course of his career, he patented many processes and created new the starches still used worldwide in adhesives, foods and medications.

At National Starch, Dr. Caldwell became director of research in 1948, and Vice President of Research in 1955;was elected to the Board of Directors in 1962, named Executive Vice President in 1967, President in 1969, Chief Executive Officer in 1975, Chairman of the Board and CEO in 1978, Chairman of the Executive Committee in 1984. After49 years, he retired in 1989.

He was a member the Advisory Board of Rutgers University Food Sciences Department, and a Trustee of the Board of Stevens Institute of Technology.

Many honors were bestowed, including the Claude Hudson Award and the Heroes of Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society; the Alsberg-French-Schoch Memorial Award, from the American Association of Cereal Chemists, the Science and Technology Medal, from the Research and Development Council of New Jersey; Honor Roll of the New Jersey Institute of Chemists; and member of the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame. His outstanding career contributions in chemistry led in 1985 to the creation of The Carlyle G. Caldwell Endowed Chair in Chemistry at Iowa State.

He devoted his energies and talents to his community, serving the Boy Scouts and the Muhlenberg Hospital. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Somerset County Chamber of Commerce, and in 1990 was named the Outstanding Citizen of the Year. He was Chairman of Somerset County United Way. That organization named its board room in his honor and in 2003, presented him with the 2003 Engelhard Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Caldwell was a member of the Somerville Rotary Club and the Raritan Valley Country Club.

Corky was an avid sportsman; he played four-wall handball, racquetball, tennis, golf, and enjoyed trap and skeet shooting, duck and upland bird hunting, and cross country skiing.

Services will be 11:30am Thursday at St. John’s Episcopal Church 158 W. High St. Somerville. Interment will follow at New Cemetery, Somerville.